1787 Connecticut Copper. Miller 16.4-n, W-3020. Rarity-6+. Drape Bust Left, AUCIORI. Extremely Fine, Porous. 153.5 grains. Uncommonly sharp in an example of this elusive and challenging variety, both sides retain overall crisp detail from a well centered impression. The obverse is just a tad soft along the left border with no denticulation from 6 to 12 oclock, but the word AUCTORI is fully legible, and the effigy exhibits nearly full definition. The reverse is soft in the date area with the 8 virtually absent and the other three digits faint, yet discernible. Dark antique copper patina throughout, the surfaces are free of troublesome marks, yet universally rough and granular to explain our qualifier.This is an uncommonly high quality Miller 16.4-n, sharper than the Perkins-Twin Leaf specimen most recently offered as lot 8163 in our August 2019 ANA sale (PCGS EF Details--Cleaned), but universally porous. Our other offerings for this challenging variety in recent years were generally for low grade and/impaired coins in AG to Good, including the Collection SLT example that still fetched $920 in our January 2012 Americana Sale despite a dramatic and heavily distorting countermark on the reverse. The PCGS VF-20 in our November 2019 Baltimore Auction realized $504 as lot 4050. The Heritage archives seem to reveal no offerings for this variety at all during the 21st century. Clearly this is a significant coin for the 1787 Miller 16.4-n variety that is sure to see spirited bidding among specialists.This lot includes Colonial American Coin Club Photo Certificate #163324 for this coin signed by Walter Breen. Collector tag with attribution notation included.
